Girl In The Woods
by mellysaurus
Summary: Jeff Hardy takes a walk in the woods and meets a mysterious girl with emerald green eyes who takes him by the hand and shows him a new way of living life. Jeff Hardy/OC. ONE SHOT.


**A/N: This is based lightly on the themes Looking for Alaska by John Green, if you haven't read it I sincerely suggest you do! This is only a one shot so review? Much love.**

Jeff Hardy pulled his hood up over his head and roughly shoved his hands in his pocket. He couldn't wait 'til his house was finished and he could move back in to his own solidarity. He loved his brother dearly but he couldn't get any peace living there. There was always someone round bugging him. Jeff was a man who liked his own company and on days when everyone had descended upon the eldest Hardy, he made a habit of making some sort of excuse and going for a walk in the woods that surrounded his brother's house.

That's where he found himself walking on this occasion. Matt's girlfriend had all her friends over and the girls had taken control. They were all giggling and gossiping about things that Jeff really didn't want to listen to so, in a huff, he'd taken off into the woods again. He took a deep breath of the cool autumn air and continued on his path to find a secluded spot where he could just be with himself for a while.

He found himself a secluded spot in a small meadow clearing and sat down leaning against a tree. The meadow consisted of wild flowers and plants that were perfect for Jeff to sketch. He pulled his small pad from his pocket and a pencil and began sketching away at the interesting flowers that surrounded him.

He had nearly finished his sketch when something or rather someone caught his eye. He looked up from his pad to see a young girl dancing around the trees on the other side of the meadow. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at the girl. She was young and petite. She was dressed in cut-off jeans and a red tank top and had no shoes on. Jeff's eyes were transfixed on her movements as she skipped through the trees and spun around a few times. It was a while before she stopped and looked over at him. Jeff was instantly taken back by her eyes. They were a fierce emerald green. The girl stood for a moment her eyes locked on Jeff's before circling a tree and disappearing out of sight. Jeff frowned, had he just imagined that? He shook his head as the girl came back into sight. She laughed and indicated for Jeff to follow.

He didn't know why or what made him do it but he got up, shoved his pad and pencil into his pocket, and followed the girl through the woods as she spun and danced in and out of the trees.

She lead Jeff to the lake that broke of into a stream that ran through the woods and all the way to Matt's house. He'd been there many times with Matt when they were kids but he'd not been there recently. The mysterious girl sat down on a rock and dipped her toes into the water. She wiggled her feet and laughed to herself. Jeff looked at her. In the light of the setting sun the girl looked beautiful, in fact, more than beautiful, she looked magical. He sat down next to her and the girl turned to him.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey yourself." She replied and looked back at her feet. She had electric blue toe nails and her feet, like the rest of her, were petite. "Take your shoes off and put your feet in, you won't regret it." She said with a smile. Jeff frowned for a moment before shrugging and doing as she suggested. The girl turned to him. "Regret it?" She asked. Jeff smiled and shook his head.

"Do you have a name?" He asked after a few moments silence. The girl laughed.

"I do, do you?"

"Yes, my name's Jeff." He said. Still confused about the girl and why she lead him to the lake and made him take his shoes off and dip his feet in the water.

"Is that short for Jeffery?" She asked with a half smile. Jeff nodded.

"I like it. Simple but smart." She nodded to herself and looked down at her feet where she was moving them up and down making ripples in the water. "What about a middle name?" She asked without looking up at him.

"Nero. Jeffery Nero Hardy." He said, confirming his full name. The mystery girl smiled. "So what is your name?" Jeff asked. She looked at him and smiled.

"Nevaeh." She said simply. "Spelt N-E-V-A-E-H or as I learnt to spell it as a kid, heaven backwards and my middle name is Harmony and I don't have a surname, not one that's worth mentioning any way." She laughed again before pulling out a packet of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one up. She took such a large drag that Jeff thought she was going to drain the whole thing in one. She blew the smoke out in one long, thin line before turning to Jeff again.

"So Jeff, that's short for Jeffery, Nero Hardy do you like quotes?" She asked. Jeff shrugged. He had to admit that some quotes were good but they were never really his thing.

"I don't really have an opinion of them." He admitted. Nevaeh smiled.

"I do, I love them. Live by them in fact. Quotes and last words."

"Last words?"

"Yeah, you know when someone dies they have last words. I like them. I think they say a lot about the person and what their life was like for example, François Rabelais, he was a poet by the way, his last words were 'I go to seek a great perhaps'" She looked at Jeff and smiled. Jeff was confused, what was so special about those last words.

"And that's amazing because?" He asked. Nevaeh laughed.

"Because isn't that what everyone does? Everyone seeks a great perhaps or in simpler terms everyone wants to figure out what their destiny is. Some people just live their life without sacrificing or fighting for anything they want or think they deserve and like François Rabelais, they wait until they're dying to seek their great perhaps but some people, and I mean just some, will seek their great perhaps whilst they are young. Do you get me know?" She asked pulling her feet from the water and turning to sit cross legged facing Jeff. He nodded, he thought so. Nevaeh smiled. Jeff wanted to know more about the thoughts that went through this mysterious girl's head.

"Any other last words you like?" He asked. Nevaeh smiled.

"Simón Bolívar. He's the main character in the book 'The General in his Labyrinth' which happens to be my absolute favourite book in the world, but anyway, it's a fictional book so I don't know how true these words are but, in the book, his last words are 'Damn it, how will I ever get out of this labyrinth.'" Nevaeh smiled at Jeff who was just looking at her blankly.

"What's the labyrinth?" He asked. Nevaeh laughed.

"That's the question Jeff. What exactly is he trying to escape? Living or Suffering? The world or the end or the world?" She looked at Jeff who was trying to come up with an answer in his head. He shrugged.

"I don't know." He said after a while. Nevaeh laughed again.

"The labyrinth may mean something different for everyone, shall I let you in on what I personally think the labyrinth of suffering is and how to escape it?" She asked. Jeff smiled and nodded. Nevaeh clapped her hands together and shifted her position slightly before starting to speak. "Suffering is a side effect of fear and it is well known that everyone has a fear and those who suffer are those who have realised their fears for example, if someone fears the loss of a loved one and they lose that loved one they suffer from that fear. Even the toughest of people still have fears and therefore, fall victim to the labyrinth." Nevaeh paused for a moment to let Jeff take in all that she had just said. He nodded and smiled to show his understanding. Nevaeh grinned at him before continuing to speak. "So how do we escape it I hear you ask. Well that's the thing, we don't. But, the labyrinth isn't all suffering and pain. There are secure places of the labyrinth that people can find their way to and stay their for as long as life lets them. So despite there not being an escape from the labyrinth, if people learn to live by embracing their fears and fighting through the struggles life may throw at them without giving up, we will find a safe place in the labyrinth and survive it." When Nevaeh finished speaking she turned back to the lake and dipped her feet back into the water.

Jeff watched her as he tried to make sense of all that she had just told him. He'd never looked at life in that way before. He could admit to himself that over the past few months he was on the verge of giving up. Especially when his house burnt down and he lost his dog and then when he was run off the road and the pyro accident. He shook his head and looked at Nevaeh who was humming a tune to herself as she moved her feet to make patterns in the water.

"So you honestly believe that we're in a labyrinth?" He asked. She turned and smiled at him.

"Yes Jeff, I do." She said as she stood on the rock. Without warning, she stripped down to her underwear and jumped into the lake. She swam half way out before standing up and turning to Jeff whilst laughing.

"Join me Jeff." She called. Jeff stood just looking at her for a few moments before he stripped down to his boxers and jumped in after her.

He hadn't swum in the lake since he was a kid and couldn't believe how warm it was. He swum out to Nevaeh who splashed him and laughed before jumping backwards and starting to swim.

"Don't you love it Jeff?" She asked as she stood back up again. He frowned at her.

"Love what?" He questioned. Nevaeh swum back towards him and got up close to his face.

"Being free." She said before swimming off again. She laughed as Jeff swum after her. "Don't you just love being able to do whatever you feel like it whenever you feel like it?" She asked as she floated on the top of the water looking up at the darkening sky. Jeff floated next to her.

"Sure. It's pretty cool." He said. Nevaeh laughed. Jeff had noticed that she laughed a lot. He liked it.

"It's more than cool. Maybe that's where you're going wrong Jeff." She said as she stood up.

"Where?" He asked standing up too.

"You're not free enough." She said with a shrug before swimming over to the edge and climbing out of the water. She picked her clothes up as Jeff joined her. They both put their dry clothes on over their wet underwear and walked back through to the clearing where Jeff had originally seen the young girl.

They laid in the middle of the meadow as the sun went down and the stars appeared in the sky just talking about anything and everything until Nevaeh stood up. Jeff sat up and gave her a questioning look at how quickly her mood had changed.

"I'm really sorry Jeff but I must go." She said with a panicked tone. Jeff stood up and pulled the young girl into his arms. He leant in a softly placed his lips to her. They kissed under the moonlight until Nevaeh pulled away. "I don't want to leave you but I have to Jeffery Nero Hardy." She said softly as she ran a hand through his hair. "Just remember that you've given me the best day I've had ever today." She said with a smile before turning and walking off.

"Wait, Nevaeh will I ever see you again?" He called out after her. She turned and smiled.

"Maybe Jeff, who knows? Maybe one day our paths will cross again, but until then remember to live without fear and seek your great perhaps." She called back and with one last laugh she disappeared into the trees.

Jeff shook his head. He didn't know whether he would ever see the mysterious girl ever again, but he knew that even in the short time they had spent together, she had opened his eyes to see things differently an to appreciate the good things he had in life, like his family and the day he had spent with his mystery girl. Smiling to himself, he turned and made his way back through the woods and back to Matt's house where he would start to seek his 'Great Perhaps'.


End file.
